Planning Committee

Sara is the Director of the Office of Service and Justice at Jesuit High School (Sacramento). She is also a teacher in the Theology department teaching Social Justice, Hebrew Scriptures, and Christian Testament. She also supports adult Ignatian Formation work at Jesuit. A graduate of three Jesuit schools (St. Ignatius College Prep Chicago, Creighton University, and Santa Clara University), she is deeply formed by an Ignatian worldview and the commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice that Gospel fidelity calls her to. Sara enjoys accompanying students as they hone their voices that call for justice on our campuses, communities, and world.

Rachel Ford is the Director of the Magis Christian Service Program at Seattle Prep. She has a Master's in Social Work and approaches her work at Prep from that lens. She's also the mom of two little boys she's raising to be feminists and anti-racists. Rachel was raised in the Pacific Northwest and finds joy in having the privilege of raising her boys in Seattle. Jesuit education has been formative for Rachel as a student and as an adult co-conspirator in the work of justice, equity, inclusion and the creation of a hope filled future.

Kelly O'Neill has been a part of the Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School community for 4 years. She serves as the Director of Campus Ministry, and teaches social justice, a DREAM job! Her Catholic faith compels her to study, seek, and work for liberation. Kelly also serves youth in juvenile detention through the Restorative Justice program in the Diocese of San Jose, and is working toward being a doula and birth educator in order to work for informed care and birth justice for all birthing folks. Currently reading: Felix Ever After and How to Be An Anti-Racist.

Amanda Montez is the current Spanish teacher, Culture & Identity teacher, and Parent Engagement Coordinator at Sacred Heart Nativity Schools in San Jose, California. She is working on her master’s degree in International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco. As a bi-racial woman, she focuses her studies and her teaching on race, culture, and identity. She received her undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University in Elementary Education and Spanish. She has taught at Homeboy Industries, worked in Cordoba, Argentina for a study abroad program, accompanied recently deported migrants in Tijuana, and has led immersion trips around the country for her alma mater, Xavier College Prep in the Coachella Valley.

Justine Javier is currently the Director of Campus Ministry at Cristo Rey High School in Sacramento. Her education at Loyola Marymount University and Jesuit Volunteer year teaching at St. Aloysius in Harlem, NY, sparked her desire to promote the Jesuit mission. She worked in youth ministry at Holy Trinity Parish, a Jesuit parish in Georgetown, Washington. DC. After some time on the East Coast, she decided to move back to California, where she grew up, for her Masters in Divinity at Santa Clara University. As a daughter of Filipino immigrants, she has come to celebrate and own her identity as a Filipina-American. She is grateful to be able to work with young people to empower them in their identity and draw from the richness of Ignatian tradition and her Catholic faith.

Will Rutt is a graduate of Brophy College Preparatory, Creighton University, and the University of San Francisco. He currently teaches religious studies at Brophy and serves as the Director of Ignatian Service and Advocacy College. Immigration has been at the forefront of Will’s work over the last 10 years, begging during a summer community organizing internship the summer the anti-immigrant legislation SB1070 was rolled out in Arizona. Over the past few years, he has focused on supporting students on Brophy's campus to advocate for social change, most notably through the Dream On Campaign that began upon the rescission of DACA in 2017.

Dr. Jesús Rodriguez has spent over twenty years in Catholic / Public education as a high school teacher, administrator and lecturer in the College of Education at California State University, Long Beach and affiliate instructor in the Doctor of Interdisciplinary Leadership Program at Creighton University. His research interests focus on the intersection of race, legal status, and culture on the educational aspirations of undocumented immigrant Latina/o students in secondary school settings and the factors that contribute to their successful navigation of the educational system. His philosophy on teaching and learning is guided by an Ignatian Spirituality of “personal concern for the whole life of each student” and one that, he believes, reflects the fundamental principles of inclusion, social justice, and valuing every human being. He serves as the Director for the Center for Service and Justice at Loyola High School of Los Angeles.

Jamal Adams is the Director of Equity and Inclusion at Loyola High School of Los Angeles. In addition to those duties he is also teacher in the Social Studies department teaching Economics and African American Studies, as well as the Head Varsity Basketball Coach. As a graduate of Loyola High School, he matriculated to Columbia University where he was a member of the Men’s Basketball team, as well as earning a degree in Economics. Jamal’s professional career began with an 11 years stint working in Finance in both New York and Los Angeles. Upon his return to Loyola as an educator, Jamal earned his Masters in Secondary Education from Loyola Marymount University, graduating with Honors.